The human olfactory receptor 17-40: Requisites for fitting into the binding pocket

► In this work we built a 3D model of the human receptor OR 17-40. ► The amino acids lining the putative binding pocket were identified. ► We investigated the binding ability of a set of odorous molecules by docking simulations. ► The olfactory and electrophysiological properties of new ligands synthesised were tested. ► Results indicate that several factors are involved in the ligand/OR 17-40 interaction.